Author's Note: This is a story I wrote for English class one year. The assignment was to write a children's story about anything we wanted and this is what I came up with. I think it was only supposed to be one paragraph long. As you can see I got a little carried away. I have some ideas for turning this into a longer story, but I'm not sure if I will continue it in a children's style or make it a more adult story. Either way it won't happen for a while so enjoy what there is here. Please let me know what you think.

Max the Mouse

Max the mouse was a wizard's familiar. At first this hadn't meant much more to Max then plenty of food and a warm nest. But as time went on Max began to think. This was something Max had never done before and it quite surprised him. Soon after Max began to think he discovered that he could talk. All of this was very confusing to Max, who had been a simple church mouse before the wizard had picked him up.
The wizard, Ebus, explained to Max that since a familiar acts as a wizard's link to natural magic, that magic changes the animal. This angered Max. In the first place he didn't like thinking, all those thoughts whirring around made his head hurt. In the second place he was angry that the wizard hadn't asked his opinion on the matter, but had just gone ahead and made Max his familiar. So Max told the wizard that he wasn't going to be a familiar anymore, then went to his nest to sulk, refusing to talk or think.
Ebus was very sad about this. He liked Max and wanted him to be his familiar, but he understood how he felt so he left Max alone. Max tried to ignore the wizard, hoping that if he didn't help with any magic he would go back to the way he had been. But as the days went on Max discovered that thinking wasn't so bad and he liked the idea of being able to talk. However Max was still too angry at Ebus to talk to him, so Max stayed in his nest and slept.
Several days later Max was awakened by a loud bang. When he looked out of his nest Max was horrified to see the evil sorcerer Nightscourge. Nightscourge had been trying to steal Ebus' magic secrets for years. It seemed that Nightscourge had finally found a way to get them. Ebus lay on the floor unmoving as Nightscourge searched through his books. Max scampered over to Ebus, fearing the worst, but as he reached Ebus he saw that the wizard's eyes were open and alert. Wondering why Ebus wasn't doing anything, Max leaned against his cheek trying to get him to move. Suddenly, Max heard Ebus' voice in his head.
"Keep in contact with me, Max, or I won't be able to talk to you. Nightscourge has put a spell on me that stops me from reaching my magic or moving. He caught me unawares as I got out of bed. I've never been a morning person."
Max thought for a moment, then leaned closer to Ebus and opened up to the natural magic. He passed this magic to Ebus who smiled as he felt the power flow into him. Then Ebus got up, picked up Max, and spoke three words of power. Nightscourge, who hadn't been paying attention, looked very surprised as he flew out the window.
"I hope Nightscourge enjoys his vacation to Dragon Mountain," said Ebus. Then he looked down at Max. "Thank you very much, Max. I'm sorry I didn't ask you permission to be my familiar. I understand if you want to go back to your old life and I will try to help you return to normal. But if you would consider giving me another chance, I would really appreciate it if you would stay and be my familiar."
Max thought very hard, suddenly glad that he could think. Then he looked up at Ebus with a smile and said, "Of course I'll stay. You'd get into too much trouble without me."

THE END